How come there are 20 multiple votes?
The first album was great. A band finding themselves, with some great North East connections, and the timeless Sultans of swing. Communique, in my view, was hugely underrated. New, Where do you think you’re going, and Lady Writer will get on every Dire Straits Top 10.
Making Movies was fantastic throughout, apart from Les Boys. Love Over Gold was beautifully produced, but the band probably peaked half way through the brilliant Telegraph Road. As they got more commercial, I didn’t listen to much more after that. History will show they were a great, great band…
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Thanks @LindsayM , a nice thread.
I was hoping for some insight into what might have changed after Communiqué causing the alleged leap into ‘pretention’. My guess, doubtless too simple for the forum’s cognoscenti, is that David Knopfler left!
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Nothing better illustrates the dangers of good audio.
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I do actually think there’s some serious truth in that.
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I’ve already voted for the first album so won’t vote again but have to say that I like ‘Communique’, even if it does sound a bit like outtakes from the first album.
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Will download to Melco tomorrow.
But a shame I can’t have the lp. I doubt it will sound good on a digital transfer, as it’s an album from 1983.
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The guitar sound on that first album wasn’t like anything else out there. It got me then and it gets my vote now.
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Agreed, I first heard it at a hi fi show in a hotel on Blackheath. Pretty much every demo featured the album (first) Had to go into Lewisham and get a copy at “our price” I think.
First saw them at Lewisham odeon where they were brilliant. Saw them several times later at bigger venues, never quite the same though
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Yes, very odd having multiple selections as “best”. Oddest is the OP starting the thread, not only allowing multiple but himself selecting 3 bests! (And why not other albums, such as compilations?)
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On the multiple choice I thought folks were able to rank, so when I do the Spice Girls poll later on will go back to just one choice.
With regard to compilations I exclude them because I think we should be voting on the original albums as created by the band.
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Never watch the X Factor
I was born in 1970 and as a teenager I thought they were a “very uncool” band. I revisited that belief in my 20’s and whilst I think they are still “uncool” they have produced some very good records - love over gold is the one that pulls me in the most.
I think the uncoolness comes from a few bad songs industrial disease, calling Elvis, and lines like chicks for free…..
No doubting Mark’s guitar playing and they have given us some great records with a few really bad songs but for the highs they grave us I can tolerate the lows.
Gary
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Made me laugh out loud!
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I find that a truly bizarre statement. Single coil strat with few effects. Basically most bedroom guitarists ever. His playing hailed as unique because he played bass notes with his thumb and melody/chords with his other fingers. Erm… I hereby claim my acoustic guitar playing to be as equally unique.
I downloaded 3 tracks from Qobuz, Live at the BBC. Hopefully I didn’t bought the whole album. The sound is very poor. Listenable however. Specially vs my original first album on my P10 and my Analogue Productions 45 rpm, which sound so wonderful.
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On the first album there’s a magical interacting between musicians. Each track sounds so right, so in time, so cohesive. It’s rare.
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… which is of course quite amusing because it’s well known that the album consists of a couple of live demos overdubbed/replaced using standard multitracking with the rest recorded afresh but never together as a band in the studio. Muff Winwood has spoken and written about it extensively. Any magic derived from the interaction of the band is thus fictional. I’m not saying there’s no magic there. That’s in the ears of those who love it. However, it was never from their performance together as a band in the studio as they largely didn’t do that for that album.
All went downhill after LoG…….
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Are you sure about it for the first album there’s?
I can read on the Dire Straits blog site:
« On this day in 1978 Dire Straits were in the studio working on their debut album. Recorded at Basing Street Studios in London, the project had a total budget of £12,500 – including artwork!«